


Introducing the Boyfriend

by DC (UnknownUnseenUnheard), UnknownUnseenUnheard



Category: DCU, Impulse (Comics)
Genre: Bart Allen Centric, Coming Out, Gen, M/M, No Beta, how am I writing sap, how did this happen, sappy fic tbh, that fears carol and thats valid of him, uwu, we die like Bart and Kon did
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-23
Updated: 2020-09-23
Packaged: 2021-03-08 04:33:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,119
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26609845
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UnknownUnseenUnheard/pseuds/DC, https://archiveofourown.org/users/UnknownUnseenUnheard/pseuds/UnknownUnseenUnheard
Summary: Now that Max is back, Bart has come to an important decision: he’s going to come out to his familyHe’s scared, but at least he’s got his boyfriend to support him all the wayNow, if only Carol and Thad could stop trying to kill each other for five seconds so Bart can actually come out, that would be nice
Relationships: Bart Allen & Carol Bucklen, Bart Allen & Helen Claiborne, Bart Allen & Max Crandall, Bart Allen & Thaddeus Thawne, Bart Allen/Kon-El | Conner Kent
Comments: 8
Kudos: 46





	Introducing the Boyfriend

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Queerbutstillhere](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Queerbutstillhere/gifts).



A/N: written for Queerbutstillhere on Tumblr

Korey, you're amazing! Enjoy! (:

Published: 9/22/2020

Warnings: Character coming out to their family and terrified they're going to be rejected for it

Featured Character:

Bart Allen

Supporting: 

Conner Kent | Kon-El

Carol Bucklen

Max Mercury

Helen Claiborne

Thad Thawne

Antagonist: 

None

* * *

**Introducing the Boyfriend**

Max Mercury took a drink.

The effect alcohol had on Speedsters was so minimal it might as well be factored out of the equation, but Max couldn't help it. Not now, in this particular instance.

Max was used to losing years. He was accustomed to it. This was hardly the first time it had happened and, if Max was being honest with himself, it probably wouldn't even be the last.

It was, however, the single most embarrassing.

Edward Clariss was a Speedster that few had even heard about, let alone confronted. He was a man from a bygone era, something Max should have anticipated, something he should have seen coming.

Instead, Max had left himself open to a possession in the single most embarrassing moment of his hero career.

Regardless, Max was now back. The Rival had been defeated by both Bart and Thad, who had put aside their differences for a single mutual goal: saving him. On that note, _Bart and Thad got along now,_ a thing Max had never actually thought he'd live to see.

That said, it had taken them weeks to convince Max that he hadn't accidentally ended up in an alternate reality.

Regardless, Max was now here, eating a meal with his daughter, and with Carol and Thad, just the way Bart had requested. Why Bart had wanted them all in one place, Max wasn't sure, but he was starting to regret the decision, for one very simple reason: the belligerent tension between Thad and Carol was so thick it could be cut with a damn knife.

"I still can't believe you and Bart now get along," Carol squinted at Thad while waving a breadstick in the other boy's general direction.

"I still can't believe that your future self made such a mess of said future that the only solution to it was erasing you from the timeline," Thad countered back easily enough.

"That was your grandfather's fault," Carol smiled pleasantly at Thad, "since you failed in your task, he turned to me. Or, rather, he stole my research and made a mess of things."

"I willingly defected, there's a difference," Thad pointed out

"wiLliNglY dEfeCTeD," Carol mocked.

Thad twitched. The two teenagers glared at one another, sparks flying between the pair of them. In Thad's case, literal sparks not, just metaphorical ones.

"Children!" Max interrupted, switching his gaze from one to the other. Both of them stopped and shot him looks. "Enough," Max spoke, "let's just eat our meal in peace."

 _'Bart,'_ Max internally hissed, ' _where are you?'_

Carol began to pick at her dinner, all while shooting faux pleasant looks in Thad's direction. "Blow up any babies lately?" Carol asked, tone light and polite, as if discussing the weather.

Max winced.

Thad slammed a fist against the table, "I told you, that was not me, _grandfather made another clone after I defected._ "

"So, you could say someone walked around pretending to be you and tricked everyone you knew with lies?" Carol let out a fake gasp, covering her mouth in pretend shock. "That's awful! Who would do such a thing?"

"Who indeed," Thad brought his fork to his lips. "Only fools would be taken in by such a lackluster charade."

"You may have fooled everyone else, but you _never_ fooled me," Carol spat, pretence at pleasantness evaporating into thin air.

"I also failed to fool the dog," Thad pointed out before a wide smile splayed itself across the teenager's lips. "Tricking bitches is harder than I expected, I suppose."

Max's face twisted into a pained expression as Carol looked point five seconds away from lunging across the table to try and strangle Thad with her bare hands.

Then, bless her, Helen arrived from the kitchen, setting down a pan between them all, smiling all around. "Would anyone like to try the chicken?" Helen asked in a clear effort to defuse the situation.

"I don't know," Carol spoke, "Is it real chicken, or fake pretend chicken like fake pretend friends?"

By the Speedforce. Where even was Bart? He had just asked them to gather, saying he had an important announcement to make before running off again, leaving Max and Helen to deal with Thad and Carol.

Evil. Pure evil.

Where was that boy, anyways?

* * *

"Bart, I think you may be overreacting a bit?" Kon suggested, then winced as his boyfriend glared daggers at him. Kon let out an eep and backed away slightly.

Bart might be small, but there was a reason even Superboy Prime was scared shitless of Kon's boyfriend. Despite his size, Bart was an utter force of nature, and one that should not, under any circumstances, be underestimated.

"What if they don't like you?! What if Carol still has feelings for me and hasn't said anything?! What if Max looks at me in complete disgust because he's from an era where homosexuals being put to death by their peers was considered moral and correct?" Bart babbled on and Kon couldn't help but wince at the words, because what could he say to counter it?

Carol _had_ been in love with Bart, both of them knew that.

Max _was_ from a bygone era. Both of them knew that too.

Yes, Bart loved them and they loved him, but fear? Fear was not a rational emotion. It makes you panic, makes you second guess yourself. Makes you doubt.

Bart was scared of how Max and Carol would respond. That wasn't even bringing Helen and Thad into the equation, who also might react badly, although Kon doubted Thad would care that much about Bart being pan to begin with, so he wasn't worried about him.

Kon had caught Inertia ogling other guys far too many times to buy that.

Bart began to zip around the room, body shaking with evident panic. "What if they kick me out? What then? What if they hate me, and never want to talk to me again? What if -?"

That was enough.

Taking a step forward, Kon reached out, grabbing Bart by the shoulders. Miraculously, the Speedster fell still, staring up at Kon with wide eyes as Kon turned him around to face him.

"Hey," Kon told him, "no matter what happens? I will be with you **every** step of the way," Kon promised, and Bart's tension seemed to melt, if only a little. Bringing the smaller teen in for a hug, Kon wrapped his arms around him and rested his face in Bart's floof.

Bart sighed, relaxing a bit more into Kon's embrace. He was still tense, yes, but not as much as he had been.

"Besides, I've got a pad down in Hawaii if things go south. Or, we could go stay with Tim. Or, hell, we can go bother the fuck out of Lex to the point where he regrets making me while having a gay panic over Superman in tights."

Bart stifled a laugh, fist weakly punching against one of Kon's pecks. Grinning, Kon held his boyfriend close.

No matter what happened, they would do this together.

* * *

Bart was having a gay panic.

He was queer, he was panicking, hence, gay panic. Any panic Bart had was a gay panic, and he was definitely having one now, one that was almost as bad as the day a rainbow paint colored Kon had effortlessly pinned Bant down without his powers and threatened to make Bart eat sushi.

That moment had been Bart's gay awakening, because of course Kon had fucking caused that.

And, now, Bart was going to come out to his family, the people he loved most. The people that mattered more to him than anyone else in the world.

Except Wally, who Bart would tell afterwards. And, if Wally had the balls to be offended with the way held shamelessly stare at Nightwing's ass, Bart would do his duty and vibe check the fuck out of him.

All in all, Bart was glad he had Kon with him. Knowing that his boyfriend would stick to him, regardless of the outcome, really did take a weight off Bart's shoulders. At the end of the day, even if he lost everyone else, he would still have Kon.

"All right," Bart told Kon after detangling himself from his boyfriend's arms. "I'm going to go in first and gauge the situation and-"

Kon's hand caught Bart's chin, lifting his face up to look him in the eyes.

"Hey, _no_. We're in this together, Imp. From now 'till the end."

Bant's heart skipped a beat as the sincerity of the words rang through the air.

Kon leaned forward, resting his forehead against Bart's as his big hands wrapped around Bart's waist. Hands that could easily, with a mere flex of Kon's fingers, snap him in half. Hands that Bart felt completely and erovically safe in.

"We do this together, okay? Whatever happens, we face it together."

Bart stared into Kon's eyes for several moments. Most people thought Kon had Superman's eyes, but that wasn't true. There were specks of green among the ocean of blue, specks Bart would count faster than the human eye could perceive.

Bart could get lost in those eyes. _He had gotten lost in those eyes before,_ because he was so ridiculously gay for Kon that it wasn't even funny.

Staring into them now, and seeing the unconditional love and devotion Kon had for him staring right back, made Bart feel like he could fly. Like he could soar, like nothing in the world could ever, ever hurt him.

It made him feel safe and secure and so fucking in love.

"All right" Bart nodded, a small smile playing across his lips. "Let's do this. Together."

Then, Kon gave Bart a lopsided grin, the one that made Bart's stomach do back flips before pressing a soft kiss to Bart's lips. Bart sighed, closing his eyes and enjoying the moment.

* * *

"Hello!" Bark shouted as he dramatically kicked open the door (that he had unlocked and opened slightly beforehand, because he wasn't a savage) "It is I! Bartholomew! Here with an announceme- Thad, Carol, what the fuck."

Behind Bart, Kon blinked. Those had not been the words he had been expecting to hear pass by his boyfriend's mouth. Looking past Bart, Kon took stock of the situation, and froze.

Thad Thawne, the infamous Inertia, notorious supervillain, master of the Dark Speedforce, was... Currently locked in a wrestling match on the floor with Carol Bucklen. Not just that. He was currently wrestling on the floor with Carol Bucklen, _and he was clearly losing._

Behind them, standing on the other side of the dining room table, Max and Helen looked completely and utterly done, exhaustion evident in both their eyes.

Dox was sitting off to the side, watching intently as his tail wagged happily, clearly enjoying the shows as Carol successfully managed to slam Thad face first onto the floor, pinning him in place with his arms twisted behind his back as she straddled him.

Everyone in the room froze, staring up at Bart and Kon in surprise, except Dox, who whined in lament when he quickly realized the scuffle between Carol and Thad was coming to an end.

"Bart!" Carol greeted, a wide smile adorning her lips as she pushed down on Thad.

"Owe! How dare you, woman! Release me, immediately!" Thad demanded.

Clearly ignoring him, Carol did not look away from Bart. Instead, still smiling, she greeted him cheerfully, "You were late for dinner, and me and Thad here had a bit of a disagreement but I'm sure we'll get along soon enough!"

"I will end y- ouch!" Thad hissed in pain as Carol twisted his arm.

"Quiet, sweetie. The adults are talking," Carol told him pleasantly.

"Bart!" Max loudly greeted, a fake tired smile falling across his face. "Good. You're here! And, you brought company!" Max said, shooting a quick look at Kon before turning his gaze back to Bart. "Which means, _we can go back to eating our meal in peace, sans interruptions."_

Max didn't look at Carol and Thad, but the implication was clear for all to see.

Grumbling, Carol sat up, moving off of Thad. In less than a second, the formerly rouge Speedster had practically teleported behind Bart, crouching behind the other slightly, gazing over Bart's shoulder at a victorious looking Carol.

"I fear no man," Thad lied, because Kon knew damn well that Thaddeus Thawne feared both his creator and Wally West a great deal. "But, that thing? It scares me."

Carol didn't even bother looking ashamed. Indeed, the girl had a smug aura around her that Kon could not help but admire.

Helen clapped her hands, drawing attention to herself, "Why don't we all settle down and eat this lovely prepared meal Max and I made?"

Bart looked back, shooting Kon a look over his shoulder. So far, this was going for more chaotically than either of them had anticipated, and they hadn't even had a chance to come out yet.

* * *

Max's sigh of relief when Bart finally sat at the table was audible for all to hear. Carol, at long last, had the shame to look abashed. Thad, on other hand, was rubbing at his arm while shooting her 'discrete' glares. Which was totally valid, if Bart was being fair.

Bart exchanged looks with Kon on the other side of the table. His boyfriend met his gaze, and years of knowing him told Bart all he needed to know.

Kon would support him, no matter how Bart decided to play this out. If Bart decided to come out to his family, right here and now, Kon would support him.

If Bart decided things were just a bit too awkward now and decided to back out Kon would support that too.

But, Bart considered, would there ever be a good time to do this? A perfect moment where everything was nice and calm, without a drop of tension in the air?

Personally, Bart didn't think so. Getting Thad and Carol in the same room had been a hassle in and of itself, and it was a miracle that it had only resulted in Carol pinning Thad down once.

They were superheroes. There would always be another struggle, another battle. Another reason to be tensed and stressed, another world ending event.

There was never going to be a perfect time, or a perfect moment. Things would always be messy, would always be chaotic.

Bart felt the telltale feel of Kon's tactile telekinesis squeezing his knee slightly, resting there, offering him comfort and reassurances,

Taking a breath, Bart made a split second decision.

Rising to his feet rapidly, Bart looked around the table. Eyes fixed on him as Bart looked around.

"Guys! I have an announcement to make!" Bart told them.

"You're changing your hero name?" Carol suggested.

"You've realized that I am the superior speedster and have decided to finally admit it?" Thad perked.

Carol shot him a shot him a feral look that indicated Thad was on thin fucking ice.

"Carol, Thad, enough!" Max barked, startling the pair of them. "The two of you have been at each other's throats for over an hour! Can't you at least let Bart speak without interrupting him?"

Bart felt a surge of gratitude for Max shoot through him. He wasn't sure where he'd be without his foster dad. And, that was exactly what Max was: _his dad._

Bart hadn't really known his parents, His dad had died before he had been born, and his mom? His mom was constantly on the run, fighting a war against Bart's grandfather.

She couldn't take care of him, or watch over him. Bart knew she loved him, and he loved her, but he couldn't say he really knew her. Hell, _Carol_ knew Bart's mom better than Bart did himself.

But, Max? Max had taken him in. Max had practically raised him, taught him, helped Bart move forward. Not just in how to be a hero, but in how to be a person. And Bart would always be grateful for that. He would always appreciate it. Max's approval wasn't just something Bart wanted.

It was something he needed.

That was why Bart was so scared, so terrified of this.

He could handle the others hating him, but Max? Max hating him would break Bart's heart.

Kon's ttk wrapped around Bart's hand, taking the form of Kon's hand, giving him a gentle squeeze.

Bart let out a breath. He could do this. He could do this. He could do this. Everyone was looking at him expectantly, waiting for Bart to speak up.

Bart could do this. He could. He wasn't alone. No matter how this turned out, at the end of the day, he would still have Kon. He would still have his boyfriend, who he was very, very in love with.

And yeah, rejection would hurt, but at least Bart knew he wouldn't have to suffer that alone.

Bart exchanged a quick look with Kon before looking around at his family, meeting each of their gazes.

"I- I'm pan," Bart confessed, watching everyone's expressions closely. Thad looked bored, Carol looked... happy? And Max and Helen both looked surprised. Surprised, but not offended or disgusted. So far so good.

Bart took a deep breath and continued.

"At least, I'm this century's version of pan? We don't really have gender in the future and I was kinda confused by it when I came here, but everyone was rolling with it so I just assumed it was something they'd left out of my V.R. training and-."

Thad coughed. Bart went beet red before shooting his twin (because thinking of Thad as his twin rather than a weapon that had been specifically molded to kill him was far easier) a grateful look. "Anyways, "Bart said. "I like guys. And girls. And I- I'm dating Kon," Bart admitted, meeting Kon's gaze across the table and smiling at him. Kon smiled right back, reassurance in his eyes.

(Bart pretended not to notice how Carol flinched a little of that)

Bart met Max's gaze again. The older man's eyes were a mystery. Bart couldn't decipher a damn thing in them, and that? That scared the hell out of him.

"I wanted to tell you, because- because you're all my family, and this is a part of me, an important part, and I hope you don't hate me over it and I-" Bart choked, only then realizing he was crying.

_When had he started crying?_

Bart heard the scrapping of a chair. It took him a moment to realize that he couldn't see, and that he'd closed his eyes.

"Oh, sweetie!"

Helen's arms, warm and strong and loving wrapped around Bart, "We would never hate you for being who you are, Bart! Who you love is never wrong, regardless of what their gender is!"

Bart hadn't realized when, but he was sobbing. Sobbing and clutching to Helen like a lifeline. Soon, additional arms encircled him. Carol, Max, even Thad, all of them, holding onto him.

They loved him. They accepted him, exactly how he was. Opening his eyes, Bart met Kon's gaze across the table, took in the happy smile his boyfriend was sending him, and felt content for the first time in a while.

* * *

Max Mercury could admit Bart's words had shocked him. He could also admit that his first and foremost reaction had been one of repulsion, because Bart was talking about things that were meant to be kept in the dark.

It wasn't something talked about, or spoken of. A secret, meant to be kept until final breath.

Except, that wasn't how things were anymore, was it?

Times had changed. Overall, Max believed they had changed for the better.

Bart's sexuality had come as a shock, yes, so Max had made sure to keep his expression blank. He was glad he had, because it had quickly become clear that Bart had been terrified of any possible rejection they might give him.

And, that was the last thing Max wanted Bart to feel.

Sitting down at the local library, Max opened a book on LGBT history through the ages. He was old, Max could admit, with outdated views. And, if he was going to support Bart properly, he had to learn.

That itself wasn't new for Max. If there was one thing the aged Speedster had learned in his long life, it was that one never really stops learning, and one can always become a better version of themselves.

* * *

Helen Claiborne had not expected Bart to come out to them. Was she surprised that he was romantically attracted to Superboy? Not in the slightest, she'd heard Bart babble a mile a minute before, that wasn't what surprised her.

As much as Helen hated to admit it, what surprised her most was that Bart had caught onto his own feelings and acted on them.

Helen smiled. Good for him.

* * *

Carol Bucklen wasn't stupid. She wasn't blind, or ignorant. She had noticed rather early on how Bart's eyes would linger, on both boys and girls indiscriminately.

Or, as Bart had stated, on anyone, since his concept of gender was practically a non existent point.

Hugging her knees as she sat on her bed, Carol couldn't help but cry a bit.

She was happy for Bart. She really was. She could tell Superboy made him happy, made him smile. She could see their relationship wasn't doomed from the start like her's and Bart's had been.

The fallout from her relationship with Bart had been so bad a future version of Carol had traveled back in time to prevent it right as it was starting to blossom, and Carol wasn't going to sit here and pretend she was over it.

She loved Bart, with all her heart. She probably always would. But, Carol realized, _she had to move on._

It was clear as day that Bart already had.

* * *

Thad Thawne wondered how anyone could have looked at his twin and mistaken him for being straight. If anything, the only thing that surprised Thad was that Bart hadn't come out as entirely gay.

Whistling to himself, the young Speedster wondered if he should reveal he was dating Superboy's clone, after he had helped the other stabilize his rapidly degenerating body.

Thad tilted his head. Hm…

Nah! One surprise at a time, lest they kill Max from too much shock.

* * *

Cuddling up to Kon on his own sofa during movie night with the rest of his family was Bart's definition of happy. Sighing, Bart was content as he rested his head in the crook of Kon's shoulder, watching the movie.

Then, a thought occurred to Bart.

Lifting himself up slightly, he looked straight at Kon, who was currently abusing his powers by using his telekinesis to pop popcorn into his mouth.

"So, when are you gonna come out to your family?" Bart asked, because hey, Kon had helped him come out and Bart definitely wanted to return the favor.

"Hm?" Kon looked startled, the popcorn falling from his lips. "I- Bart, honey bun, they already know."

Bart did a double take.

"They what?"

"I didn't tell them who I was dating, since you didn't want anyone to know before your family, but I did mention it was a guy," Kon admitted. "I mean, I've never really hidden it? It would be kinda hard to, considering I'd been caught making out with guys when I lived in Hawaii. Hell, it was all over the tabloids for a while there. I thought you knew?"

No, Bart hadn't known, since he didn't follow superhero gossip. And, even if he did, a good 90 percent of it was hersey.

"Still,"Kon grinned, wrapping his arms around Bart and squeezing him in his embrace, "Now that we've told your fam, I can show you off to mine," Kon said gleefully. "Ma already loves you, she'll be ecstatic when I tell her we're dating."

Bart smiled right back, Kon's good mood being infectus. "I'd like that," Bart said, and pressed a soft kiss to Kon's lips.

A few feet away, Thad began to mock gag.

"Can the two of you not be this ridiculously sweet and sappy while I'm trying to watch a movie?" Thad demanded.

Bart responded by lifting his hand to flip Thad off, not bothering to lift himself off Kon, happy and content.

* * *

Bart Allen’s Gay Awakening, Colorized: 


End file.
